The Last Dance
by kcrae
Summary: Kat and Patrick get a redo after the Fall Fling.


Kat felt fuzzy. She rolled over and rubbed her eyes. She took a deep, startled breath when Bianca snorted beside her. The blonde's fluffy pink dress was squished flat and stuck out at an odd angle as Bianca repositioned herself. Kat moved to pull her blanket over her sister when a noise echoed through her room. She figured it must have been what woke her up. It sounded like her cell phone.

Kat got out of bed and walked towards her desk. The phone was vibrating loudly against the wood. She had three missed calls and six texts. All from between 10pm and now, which she realized was exactly 12:15am. She went to her call log and groaned. The first one was from Patrick at 10pm, an hour after he decided to ditch her. The second was a number she didn't recognize at 11:13pm. The third was Patrick again at 12:13pm. That just figured. The boy just wouldn't let up. It looked like he left a voicemails too. She would check them later, she didn't feel like hearing Patrick Verona's voice at that particular moment or more importantly hearing what he had to say for himself. On the other hand she had never thought him to be the type to make up excuses. He seemed more honest about his actions than that. Either way she didn't get so lucky, instead she checked her texts and unexpectedly they were all Patrick as well. She sighed and checked the first one.

'I'm so sorry. I can explain. Call me.' Delete.

'Srsly, just call me.' Delete.

'Kat, I was arrested. Happy?' What?? She stared at her phone in disbelief. Arrested? At the school dance? Right, and Katarina Stratford was a republican. She skipped to the next one.

'Keith 420 in the bathroom Padua. I didn't do it. They got me ne way.' Someone was smoking pot at a school dance? Stupid. No wonder they took Patrick, he doesn't exactly look…wholesome.

'ur still mad? Call me.' Kat stared at the screen and sighed. Of course she wasn't mad. She had been sleeping. That's what people do when they are depressed and/or think they have been stood up by a boy they may in fact be starting to like. She had one more left.

'They are taking my cell.' The last message was sent at 11:10pm, that was right before the second call. The unkown number must have been the police station. She went back to the call log. She clicked on 12:13am and Patrick's name and number popped up. He had called her less than 10 minutes ago. Shit.

She hit the 'send' button.

Kat put the phone to her ear and wondered to her window, pulling back the curtain. It started to ring as she watched the clouds drift across the moon.

"Hello."

"Patrick," she whispered, ignoring her tone of desperation. "Are you okay?" She opened the window and stepped gingerly onto her balcony so she wouldn't wake Bianca.

He sighed, he sounded oddly calm for someone who was just in county lock up. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"I'm so sorry. I laid down and fell asleep and…did you really get arrested?" He chuckled.

"I got taken in. They didn't press charges after Keith vouched for me and I pissed in a cup." Kat laughed at the thought of Patrick being forced to pee in a cup. Then she remembered her own forced cup urination and shut her mouth hurriedly.

"I'm so sorry." She leaned on the railing and looked out at the trees imagining him out there somewhere, sitting in his room.

"No, I'm sorry. You spent the night thinking I ditched you. That must have sucked." She smiled as his laugh over the phone made her stomach flutter.

"Don't flatter yourself Verona, I was fine." It wasn't a total lie. She would have been fine. Eventually.

"And to think, I was actually gping to try to kiss you tonight. I guess that would have been a mistake, huh?" Her breath caught.

"I thought you'd given up on that, remember? Not even if I begged." He was silent for a moment and she held her breath.

"I lied."

She didn't know what to say and she hated it. "Oh."

"Should I go home?" That was confusing.

"Are you still at the station? Do you need a ride?" She would just ignore it. She would not think about kissing Patrick Verona. Last time she did that he'd been arrested. Not exactly the ideal.

"Kat," he laughed softly, "look down." She did and there he was. Still in his dress shirt and slacks. He waved his cell phone in way of greeting. The little blue light flashed across his features and lit up his face.

"What are you doing here?" She said frantically into the phone, but he had already hung up and was nimbly climbing the tree outside her window. She backed up as he hopped over the railing of her balcony.

"Hey."

"What are you doing here?" He smiled and stepped closer to her. She became hyper aware of the long black t-shirt she was wearing. She felt very exposed. "Patrick?"

"I came back for my last dance. As your date I think it's my right." She smirked at him and crossed her arms.

"There isn't any music and the dance is so over. I don't think you're my date anymore." He looked down at himself and then back at her.

"I've still got the clothes on. I'm still on the date." She didn't want to blush.

"And the music?" He groaned.

"Kat." He said. It wasn't a question, he said her name like a statement.

"Patrick?" She said irritably.

"Will you please stop questioning me?" He stepped over to her, his long legs crossing the distance easily. He took her hands and put them on his shoulders and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

They swayed slowly on the balcony. She even leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Not a chance Verona." He laughed and she felt it vibrate against her ear.

*

Bianca watched her sister and Patrick Verona on the balcony. At first she wasn't sure what they were doing but then she realized it and grinned. There was no music but they were dancing under the stars. Patrick pulled back a little and Bianca knew what was coming next. As she walked back to her room she hoped Kat had put on some of that lip gloss.


End file.
